“A lot of people were asking me about Golovkin before the fight but out of respect for Cotto I did not say anything,” said Alvarez. “Now I can talk about it. I’m ready for Golovkin. I know him very well and he’s a friend of mine. I’m not afraid of anyone and I’m not afraid of him. If you don’t believe me I’ll get in the ring now and go 12 rounds.”

Alvarez was too strong for Cotto tonight and he shook the Puerto Rican veteran several times during the contest. However, the scores of 118-110, 119-109 and 117-111 painted a picture of a one-sided fight and this was far from it. Cotto certainly had his moments, at times he boxed beautifully to keep Alvarez at bay, but he ultimately lacked the power, and volume, to dissuade the young Mexican from marching forward.

“It was an honour to be in the ring with Miguel Cotto but I did what I had to do,” said Alvarez, sporting a bruised face. “I keep getting better and better. From the opening round I felt that I was stronger than him, I was moving around, I was making him miss and I won the fight.”

Alvarez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya confirmed that Canelo will fight next on May 2, and again on September 16 next year but was non-commital about ‘GGG’. He indicated that Alvarez might move back down to 154lbs, despite the fighter voicing his intention to stay at middleweight.

“Of course he’s going to fight Gennady Golovkin,” said De La Hoya. “But we’re going to let him rest and see what is for the best. We need to decide if we stay at middleweight, or drop back to light-middleweight.”

The promoter also said tonight’s exciting contest “was great for boxing” after the disappointment of Floyd Mayweather’s win over Manny Pacquiao failed to deliver.

“People were eager to see something special after Mayweather-Pacquiao,” he said. “Tonight delivered excitement.”